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KONO. However, before leaving for Iraq, Nasret apparently lost her
nerve and approached DSO Turkey, who then passed her to DSO Iraq to
be doubled and played back to the Germans. But after the February defec-
tions from KONO of Vermehren, Hamburger, and Kleczkowski, the
Abwehr realized that Nasret’s mission was hopelessly compromised and
therefore abandoned her.^59
(Narrative 13 [KONO]) Khidir & Co. While the penetration agent
(ZULU) in the LIBERATORS case was in Istanbul, he learnt from Bay
Qassim that a young clerk in the Ministry of Defence in Baghdad named
Shawkat Khidir was corresponding by secret ink^60 with a young Iraqi col-
lege student in Istanbul named Mudhaffar Zainal, who was loosely con-
nected with the LIBERATORS. A steady stream of correspondence
containing military information was maintained by the two men during the
latter half of 1943, with Zainal passing the information to the Abwehr.
CICI allowed the correspondence to continue as it was providing some
valuable insights into enemy methods and intentions. After PAIFORCE
approval in each case, the letters were decrypted, photocopied, and released
back to the mails. Occasionally PAIFORCE were anxious that certain items
of information should not reach the Germans. In such cases, the director
of the ink-testing section expertly smudged the text or drawings con-
cerned. In the letters frequent reference had been made, in both the secret
writing and the cover letters, to the sending of certain articles concealed in
toothpaste tubes and money by hand from Turkey to Iraq; however, at
some point there appears to have been difficulty in finding couriers for such
shipments. The two agents had previously used a Wagons- Lits attendant
on the Taurus Express and various other couriers—some innocent and
some not—to deliver such items. In May 1944, Khidir lost his nerve, and
the correspondence abruptly ceased. It seems that he had become con-
vinced that he was under surveillance, and KONO had become dissatisfied
with the quality of his product. However, it remained possible that Khidir
was sending intelligence by some other means that could not be observed
and controlled. DSO therefore advised the Iraqi CID to arrest him, which
they did on 11 June 1944. The subsequent house search revealed secret
writing materials. The evidence against Khidir was overwhelming; conse-
quently, he proved highly cooperative under interrogation. Two associates
were also arrested: Ismail Haqqi, a barber, who served as Khidir’s cutout
in complete innocence; and Fahridin Muhidin Mukhtar, an ex-policeman
who had been dismissed for pro-Nazi activities. It turned out that the lat-
ter was also corresponding independently with KONO; however, because
A PLACE IN THE SHADE